In this “sky skin” painting, Hurtado composed the shape of the sky to resemble a stretched animal skin. The palette of Mascara and related canvases were no doubt informed by the sky and landscape colors of her surroundings; she documented several of her paintings against the backdrop of Taos, New Mexico, where one can see the same combination of blue skies and earth tones as in the canvases themselves.

A “sky skin” painting in Taos, New Mexico, c. 1976
Photo courtesy of Luchita Hurtado